A monolithic multi-wavelength laser array has a group of multiple lasers each of which is constructed to emit light at a specified wavelength. The lasers in the group can simultaneously emit light beams of different wavelength and can be selected individually when emission at a particular wavelength is called for.
Monolithic multi-wavelength laser arrays are useful in various applications, for example, color printing, full color digital film recording, color displays, and other applications related to optical communications.
Monolithic multi-wavelength light sources can be produced by the formation of multiple laser emission sites, or laser stripes, on a common substrate. This results in monolithic multi-wavelength arrays that can emit closely spaced beams. However, such monolithic laser arrays typically generate laser beams of limited wavelength coverage output as a single set of quantum wells is used as the gain medium.